The centrally located Regent Place complex at Town Hall has been getting a bit of a makeover in recent months with a few new tenants moving in such as Senyai, a hawker style Thai restaurant tucked away in the back corner next to Assembly Bar.
They have some outdoor seating in the alley area next to the escalators, against a corrugated steel wall which is painted in faded colours to play up their roadside stall vibe, but there’s also more tables inside the narrow restaurant when you walk further inside. Keeping with their authentic homely Thai theme, the furniture is simple and wooden and there’s not much room between the tables either so large groups are not recommended unless you have a booking.
Since the place serves up hawker style food, I had the impression that the prices would also be quite cheap but the mains on the menu were actually about average Sydney price ranging from around $15-$20 each. I was surprised at the lack of dishes using chilli basil sauce as it is one of my favourites and seems quite common at most Thai restaurants, but I decided to try something different and ordered a Mee Grob Lardna. This dish had a wonderful texture thanks to the bed of crispy egg noodles which were fried to crunchy perfection and saved from being too dry by being drizzled with a thick soy gravy. There were also some stir fried vegies (baby corn, snow peas, mushroom etc.) thrown into the mix with some fresh prawns and chewy squid too. The dish was marked vegetarian on the menu, which confused me a bit because I’m pretty sure seafood counts as a type of meat to some vegetarians…
Mee Grob Lardna, $18
My friend couldn’t resist the sound of the Kana Moo Grob which featured crispy pork belly wok tossed with chilli and Thai broccoli. The dish wasn’t very big considering the price and tended a bit towards the dry side, but it was still satisfying enough with the greens.
Kana Moo Grob, $18
Senyai is an interesting spot for a quick bite, especially for fans of Thai food who are looking for dishes that are a bit different from the usual formula of “pick your meat, noodles and sauce” which many Thai restaurants seem to operate by. They have quite a variety of authentic dishes to choose from on their menu which should keep customers coming back for more!
Senyai
486 Kent Street, Regent Place
Sydney NSW 2000
Phone:(02) 9283 8686
View Comments (8)
I've walked past this new Thai eatery and it sure looks cute! I will make a pit stop if I'm craving some Thai food :)
Yeah I like the roadside stall decor they've gone for! Feels more authentic..
ooh this place looks nice, i usually only browse the top level, i should go downstairs next time!
Downstairs has quite a few more eateries - there's Miss chu's and Assembly bar next to Senyai too!
I like the decor of this place. I guess they are paying huge rent so the food is pricey...bummer.
Good point about the rent, but still at the higher end for hawker style Thai food!
The decor of this place is really nice! Love crispy egg noodles hehe.. too bad they're a bit pricey
Crispy egg noodles are the bomb! So good with some sauce over the top to soften them...